Do Make Say Think

While it could be argued that Canadian post-rock was birthed in Montreal, its artistic ferment resides in Toronto. Whereas Godspeed You! Black Emperor perfected the art of writing sweeping epics of sound and fury set to experimental cinema, Do Make Say Think takes a more impressionistic approach. Mixing electronic, electric,...

By Tom Murphy

November 8, 2007

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While it could be argued that Canadian post-rock was birthed in Montreal, its artistic ferment resides in Toronto. Whereas Godspeed You! Black Emperor perfected the art of writing sweeping epics of sound and fury set to experimental cinema, Do Make Say Think takes a more impressionistic approach. Mixing electronic, electric, orchestral and acoustic instruments, the act grounds its songs in expressively dynamic jazz rhythms. If you could travel to a lounge in a Philip K. Dick novel where everything didn't become a validation of your worst nightmares, you'd probably hear this outfit's music. Many of the group's compositions conjure images of late winter days when the sunlight glints off the snow and the cold is more soothing than biting. Although a great deal of post-rock is dark and menacing, this band of instrumentalists manages to always sound hopeful. With a moniker that sounds like an obscure zen koan, Do Make Say Think is the Kandinsky of the post-rock world.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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Twitter: @simianthinker